When Community Leaders (and News Media) Get it Wrong
It always bothers me when prominent community figures or celebs push rhetoric designed to deny farmers access to technology. I'm visiting Adelaide, Australia and was amazed to see a local paper run a story about a local wine maker that "slams" a likely change in farmer seed choice. GE crops are perfectly allowable in Australia, but the state governments of South Australia and Tasmania have imposed restrictions that block their use. Recent changes in policy suggest that these rules are likely to change. But news reports show that at least one local business leader is ramping up the rhetoric to skew public perception. That's fine on the surface. We should have honest, science-based discussions. The problem is that he gets the science wrong, the debate is asymmetrical, and it scares the public and disparages farmers that simply want the right to choose the technology whey wish to use. This article ran in South Australia: (click panels to enbiggen)